


Wherever you are and wherever you go, there's always gonna be some light

by HybrisAnaideia



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gardens, Gen, Post Infinite Garden Shikakos, Xianxia, alternate universe - dimension travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 17:49:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21342259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HybrisAnaideia/pseuds/HybrisAnaideia
Summary: Shikako did notintendto become the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. She doesn't even cultivate that way!
Relationships: TO BE DETERMINED - Relationship
Comments: 98
Kudos: 313
Collections: Heliocentrism — a Dreaming of Sunshine recursive collection





	1. The way is shut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until I figure out whether or not I want Shikako to deal with a xianxia novel world, the setting is Ambiguously Xianxia and Ambiguously Ancient Not-China

Shikako Nara is twenty something when she’s hit with the knowledge she’s not going home. There’s no time to do anything but accept it, as she lands in the middle of some sort of…Monster den?

(What even is her life…)

But she has to fight to survive right now, as the bizarre looking, rhinoceros sized creatures immediately start attacking her before she can think of running. The camel-frog chimera creatures are strong, stronger than anything she’s ever come across in her travels that isn’t a human. In fact, it’s a little like fighting something with the durability of a fresh jounin. So long as the jounin could spit flammable acid that is.

It is a long, frustrating fight as she quickly finds out that her seals don’t quite work right in this world. She’s not sure what the issue is, but she doesn’t dare to use anything until she’s had the chance to sit down and figure out the issue. So, for the first time in a long time, Shikako is forced back to the basics: kunai, shuriken, shadow, and sword.

Shikako _does not like_ going back to the basics.

* * *

She survives that den of the Camel-Frogs (she’s not even going to try and give them a better name) that had surly come straight from hell. She needs new clothing after one particularly monster got lucky, but she survived.

Of course, as Shikako had learned the hard way, Team Seven’s luck transcends dimensions. The Camel-Frogs are actually the most straight forward part of her new…residence. After she had finally found her way out of the musty smelling den, the first people she had come across were farmers. They had seemed a little hard-lived, almost unusually so for anyone in the Elemental Countries, but her mind had come crashing to a halt when her attempts to ask some friendly questions got her nowhere.

They didn’t speak Japanese.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I rushed this out in order to claim the sweet, sweet spot of having the 300th fic in the community


	2. Presented with a path

Shikako knew she had gone native in the Elemental Countries, regardless of her previous life. She was a Konoha shinobi first and foremost now; even if she was never going to see Konoha ever again.

But she doesn’t really _understand_ how deeply she’d adapted until she hears the distressed calls of a deer. It feels spine chilling, how it echoes in her bones and makes the hair on her arms stand on end. Shikako can almost feel the generations of Nara and Deer Summoners shouting in her ears as her mind goes blank, and she unthinkingly, without hesitation, rushes in to find that deer.

Chakra-enhanced speed means that she gets to the strange, perfectly circular clearing within a few moments, and Shikako barely takes in the sight of the magnificent buck that’s laying on its side before she notices how it’s in the middle of a seal. She can feel how the starlight of its life is slowly being sucked into the seal, how there’s only a few drops of life left in the buck’s body, and Shikako starts kicking aside odd stones and scuffing seal lines into inactivity.

No one is going to kill a deer on her watch.

The seal has no defenses against her assault, and it collapses into nothingness after a minute of concentrated effort. It must have been very, very old to collapse so easily and without backlash, but Shikako’s eyes are on the buck. He has a gorgeous silver-white coat, and his rack is gargantuan; it’s easily the biggest she’s ever seen. The antlers are curiously a metallic silver, but Shikako doesn’t get much of a chance to look at them before the buck struggles up onto his hooves.

She sees forest green eyes as a voice murmurs inside her mind, before her skull feels like it’s being pried apart with a crowbar.

* * *

Shikako wakes up with a head pounding worse than the last time she got a concussion, and a vast array of information she hadn’t known before falling unconscious.

It turns out that the deer she had rescued wasn’t just any deer. No, that would have been far too simple for her life. The deer was some sort of…youkai? Spirit? Shikako’s not sure of the actual word that should apply here since the deer _was_ a deer, but over a thousand years old. And able to take on human form.

He made a very handsome man.

“Did the knowledge transfer work properly?”

Shikako could tell he was speaking whatever language the nice farmers had been speaking during the week she stayed with them, but now she could understand it perfectly. That was convenient, if somewhat suspicious.

“Maybe?”

“Good, good. I could tell that you didn’t understand language when I peaked at your self, so I decided I would gift you language skills as part of my thanks for saving me.”

Shikako’s head throbbed in time to his words, and she wished she could crawl underneath a rock until her head stopped hurting. She _really_ wished she could risk opening hammerspace for some pain relief.

“Now, my esteemed benefactor, I am Lin Wenyin. I am but a humble Daoist who has little with which to repay you, but I am willing to take you on as my first and only disciple if you are willing.”

“Um…Disciple? Disciple of what, exactly?”

“Why cultivation of course, the path to immortality.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I nearly named the Deer Cultivator Lin [Yinhuanghuang] because I was in stitches at the idea of naming him "Silver Glitter", but I resisted.
> 
> I also have a plot now. Somewhat. It's just *getting* to it.


	3. Stepping on the path

Shikako did not agree to Lin Wenyin’s proposal, nor had she refused him. She still hadn’t decided what she was going to do, even after hours of interrogation.

This world was completely alien to anything she had ever known. It didn’t follow Japanese culture, or Western, and there were monsters, spirit beasts, ghosts, demons, and so much more in this world alongside the Daoists Lin Wenyin talked about. And according to the knowledge Lin Wenyin had sneakily imparted without warning – after he caught on to the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about the things he was trying to discuss – there really were ways to _ethically _strive for immortality.

He himself was a thousand-year-old deer monster (or was it demon?), a “Sixth Stage True Monarch”, that had a lifespan of _ten thousand years_. The next stage in this so-called cultivation, if he could reach it, would increase his lifespan to approximately one hundred thousand years. She could barely comprehend it.

“Benefactor, the life of a cultivator is full of risks, challenges, and peril in exchange for what benefits we can grasp. All cultivators step on the path for one reason or another, and try to find our own Way to approach the Heavenly Dao. Going as far as you can, for as long as you can, won’t harm you. You could simply stop practicing and slowly live out your remaining lifespan at any time.”

Shikako was a bit way of how insistent the deer monster was trying to sell this, but…She couldn’t go home.

There was no shying away from this, because the knowledge had been written in the marrow of her bones. Some other Shikako got to go home. She merely had the bad luck to be the Shikako to land in a world that was so profoundly different from anything she had ever seen.

“Benefactor, I promise that I have the resources and cultivation manuals you will need…You’re starting quite late in life, but I already have some ideas on how to avoid those bottlenecks.”

But in the face of everything she had lost (_againagainagain_), she desperately didn’t want to die again. After loss after loss, hopes and ambitions withering on the vine, Shikako knew she couldn’t take an endless cycle of reincarnation. And now, this deer was offering her a chance to fight against this fate. 

Shikako had never thought of pursuing immortality until now, but in order to escape from the future she could see for herself…

“I’ll do it. I’ll be your disciple.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Immortality definitely wouldn't be something Shikako would ever go for usually. The only example in Naruto is Orochimaru's flawed and *barely* functional approach, which is deeply unethical to say the least. I'm quite sure Shikako would die before trying his methods.
> 
> However, here, Shikako has been thrust permanently into a xianxia world thanks to the Infinite Shikako Works that Prime!Shikako initiated. There's nothing to even *hint* Gelel would exist here (it doesn't,) so there's nothing to tempt a shell-shocked Shikako into trying to worldjump into *something* more familiar. And a rattled, grieving Shikako decides that no, there is no way she could do this again, and again, and again. (There's nothing to suggest she won't continue to remember after all.) Reincarnating would quickly become hell, because Shikako is a person who thrives off her interpersonal connections. A unending reincarnation cycle that could dump her into any strange world would make her rootless, and unhappy to say the least.
> 
> Living forever, removing herself from the cycle, being able to establish herself in one world as *herself*, suddenly becomes something she desperately needs. Becoming a cultivator isn't in question after this.
> 
> (Also I promise this isn't gonna be an angsty focused piece, but I did want to establish WHY she decides she's going to walk down the path to immortality.)


	4. Consulting your map

Before they can start her on the road to Cultivation, Lin Wenyin asks to examine her body for something he calls “hidden physiques” as well as “hidden injuries.” The deer monster states it’s better to know before they select a Body Tempering Elixir, as certain kinds could react badly with either thing.

“You need to explain what you’re going to do, as well as what these things are.” Shikako states uncompromisingly to the deer.

“It’s only fitting _my _disciple has an inquiring mind.” Lin Wenyin states smugly, which gives Shikako a vaguely ominous feeling before he actually explains the terms.

Hidden injuries was a catch-all term for internal ailments that she might not have noticed, or hadn’t healed properly. They were problematic for Cultivators since they impeded cultivation, and could flare up during battle or Heavenly Tribulations.

“Generally, normal humans won’t need to worry about them unless they’ve chosen a martial life. A shoulder that hurts if you rotate it too suddenly isn’t a true problem for a tailor after all, but it could throw off a Cultivator in battle. The worst kind of hidden injuries are the ones that can be inflicted on your meridians, dantian, or anything else vital to your cultivation. They are difficult and expensive to treat, and that’s if they can be.”

Hidden physiques were another catch-all term, but one for mutations. Of course, Lin Wenyin didn’t call them mutations, but Shikako could recognize that had to be what they were. 

“Hidden physiques, as a rule, are rare. The ones currently known vary from mildly useful, heavens defying, debilitating, and ‘Karmic retribution from your past life.’ Effects differ with the physique, and if you have a new or undocumented physique then you have to discover your limitations yourself. However, in my personal opinion, if you have the misfortune to have a physique that lends itself to Dual Cultivation, I recommend that you should not become a Cultivator.”

Lin Wenyin then had to explain the term “Dual Cultivation”, and the issues involved with it and any physique suited to it. She felt nauseated when he was done detailing exactly what a “human cauldron” was, and agreed with him wholeheartedly. Such a cursed individual should never get involved with Cultivators.

Shikako had then agreed to the qi energy probe Lin Wenyin would be sending through her meridians, because she _did _need to know these things in order to make an informed choice.

It took Lin Wenyin ten minutes from the time he closed his eyes, and she felt a strange (but not entirely unpleasant) energy coolly enter her chakra pathways, to conclude his investigation. When he opened his verdantly green eyes, a baffled look sprawled across his face.

“I have never seen a physique like yours, because it seems to be _complementary _to your meridians instead of part of them or supplementary to them. The energy inside are also is _not _any form of qi. And strangest of all, they look like you should have ascended a stage with this physique many years ago but…Your technique was lacking some vital component.”

A thoughtful look came into his eyes as he seemed to look for her chakra pathways.

“I can’t say whether or not this physique on its own could have gained you immortality, but it should have extended your lifespan by now. But you’re still human in that respect, so whatever method you’ve been using is flawed. Likely intentionally, since there’s no internal issues in the physique and it is profoundly easy to injure yourself by cultivating incorrectly.

However, whatever your physique does, it also kept your Innate True Qi perfectly intact in defiance of everything I’ve learned of cultivation. That’s very good, since it means you’ll never miss the perfect time to begin cultivating.”

Shikako could only blink at the infodump, and the implications Lin Wenyin had just used to uproot everything shinobi knew about chakra and the Sage of Six Paths.

“As for hidden injuries, it looks like you have a few in your soul. They’ve leaked into your mental qi, which is how I felt them, but they don’t seem to be fresh. You look to be healing from them, but we’ll need to try nourishing your soul in order to ensure a Heavenly Tribulation doesn’t stress it.”

Shikako didn’t need to guess on where those came from. Repeated exposure to Gelel across realities had likely repaired much of whatever damage Jashin had inflicted. It didn’t make her any happier to know Jashin had personally injured her, instead of only _merely _the impalement via his crazed priest.

“None of these look like they’ll cause any issue with the safest and most verified Body Tempering Elixir, so we can get onto that very soon! But for today, I want to discuss what you know of your physique.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the Sage *did* ensure all those feisty brats didn't get the full package when he worked his magic. No more super-long-lived potential world breakers thanks!
> 
> Considering his mother, him, and his brother lived incredibly long lives just by chakra, it's kinda odd that Naruto doesn't have any super old people kicking around. The closest you get is the Uzumaki, and they don't have it as good as the Sage did. Now while you can ascribe *some* of his longevity to the alien DNA, those aliens have been kicking around for centuries/millennia on Chakra. Obviously here, it's chakra that is the essential component to super duper long life.
> 
> Shikako doesn't have alien DNA to add very exciting mutations (so far as we know in DoS,) but the Chakra Tree had already mutated humans into having a chakra system it could feed on. So, for Xianxia, she's (technically) a mutant that barely squeaks into being called human. She technically has not one, but TWO systems to figure out how to cultivate. If she can figure it out, she's gonna have a ridiculous cheat after oodles of hard work.


	5. First steps

It feels like things start going much, much quicker after the examination.

Lin Wenyin starts off by saying they need to make a pill that will cleanse her bone marrows (which, what?) and some other things that will help to rid her of mortal impurities _before _she starts consuming Body Tempering Elixirs. He mentions something about ensuring her foundation is as steady as they can make it, but she interrupts him before he can verbally flounce away.

(She is already detecting a pattern of impulsive impatience with the deer, with the ominous feeling that she’s only scratched the surface of this trait.)

Shikako then interrogates the deer monster again –who is now insisting she call him “Lin-shifu”– before agreeing to any of these procedures, since he keeps underestimating how much she doesn’t know. It earns her another migraine due to Lin Wenyin’s mysterious ability to shove knowledge into her brain, but this time she doesn’t faint. Shikako is not sure that’s a good improvement, as her head pounds along to her heartbeat for an hour afterwards.

However, once she’s integrated and reviewed the new information, she winds up agreeing to his plans again. Shikako supposes it’s good that, so far, he’s apparently truly acting in her best interests; just as a master should look after their personal disciple, really. Shinobi paranoia and experience tell her however, that she really could do with her own research before she gets in too deep with the deer.

But, considering that Lin Wenyin is leading her to his personal Immortal Cave in order to make these various medicines, that’s going to be a task for later. Shikako can only hope that the Immortal Cave isn’t a real cave, but something closer to the Bat Cave.

* * *

It _was_ an honest to god cave.

There was no decorations, rugs, or furniture. Instead, there was a large room off to the side that was full of traditional medical equipment, all of which had a very mystical aesthetic, and a few furnaces. The main room, and the primary disappointment to Shikako, had just an oddly carved platform she would hazard was made of jade. There were also a few dozen mismatched storage containers here and there, which were sealed with what looked to be talismans.

“Why are you giving your shifu such a disappointed look? This isn’t some cheap Immortal Cave I’ll have you know! We’re very near an energy vein, so cultivation is much easier, and I even have a Chilled Jade Platform which to cultivate on! And I even have room with which to refine pills in!”

Shikako really wanted to know where everything else was then, if Lin Wenyin wasn’t broke. 

“Now, this will be beyond you for a while, but come watch this teacher as he refines some pills for you! If you have any talent in it, you can easily make some money by selling your products to loose cultivators. Or the mortals, but you definitely don’t want to be known as the scoundrel who takes advantage of mortals for simple cash. Use a disguise if you really need some quick cash.”

Wait a minute, that actually sounded pretty unscrupulous?

“Oh, that’s right, how long can you go without food and sleep? I’ve forgotten how often pure mortals need those.”

“Lin Wenyin…I need those things every day. Food and water at least three times a day.”

“Huh? No wonder I didn’t remember that, really too pitiful of mortals to need so much. No matter! I can handle your many needs!”

Shikako had a feeling that Lin Wenyin made enemies effortlessly with this sort of skill in antagonizing others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is time for the Training Montage Arc! But it's less Karate Kid and more "we timeskip cause we're not here for 100+ chapters of slowly grinding up our cultivation"  
Also, I'm gonna try to leave some quick explanations for Xianxia stuff/terms from now on!
> 
> Immortal’s Cave – "The abode of a cultivator. Often high up in the mountains, it's a cave where spiritual energy is abundant." Literally a cave, generally minimally decorated unless it's the permanent residence of a Cultivator. 
> 
> "Cleasing the marrow" - It's where the cultivator rejuvenates the bone marrow and makes the bones stronger, more pliable and more flexible. In addition to stronger bones, bone marrow cleansing tends to build up a surplus of stored qi in the bone marrow.
> 
> Jade Platform - A staple of xianxia settings (and a indication of wealth/power), it tends to take the place of a bed for a cultivator. It enhances the practice of cultivation when the cultivator meditates on it.


	6. Admiring the scenery

After being presented with a dozen wildly varying cultivation techniques that she had been assured were “Of the most exquisite quality, with paths up to at least the Eight Stage,” Shikako was getting another niggling feeling about her newfound teacher. Perhaps it was the shinobi training speaking, but even for a deer monster as old as Lin Wenyin it seemed a bit much that he would have so many.

She wouldn’t question it if he only had his own style, and perhaps one other he had picked up, but a dozen was just suspicious.

“Now my disciple, your cultivation method should be picked according to your innate gifts. Don’t be stubborn and pick a very cool sounding method you have no talent in! One of my shixiong insisted on attempting to follow his twin along the Scholarly path when he was clearly more suited to be a Buddhist monk, because he didn’t want to shave his head and wear the kasaya. He got stuck in the Second Stage and died of old age, despite our master begging him to stop being so stubborn. Of course, since Yao-shifu had mastered the art of marking the soul, he found my shixiong when he was reborn. Now, shimei is once again learning nicely under Yao-shifu’s tender care.”

Shikako had no idea what to say to this little anecdote. There honestly weren’t words to describe the emotion she was feeling right now. Was it _common_ to do this? To hunt down people across lifetimes, since it was apparently possible?

“Did, um, your shimei remember being your shixiong?”

“Only a very little, but enough to try running from Yao-shifu’s reach! If shimei had remembered more she would have known it was better to be obedient and wait until Yao-shifu got lost in a new book.”

Well…Maybe she now knew why Lin Wenyin was living in a cave instead of somewhere with a bed; he might be hiding from his master.

“Is it common to find people after they reincarnate?”

“Depends on the Sect, if they have a method at least. If it’s a loose cultivator then it’s all very circumstantial. But if the Sect can utilize a marking method, and the soul isn’t destroyed by one of the key Heavenly Tribulations, then it’s common. After all, you’ve invested in the individual by then!”

Shikako would like to trust this deer. She really would. It would be much easier if he quit throwing out suspiciously unscrupulous comments like that.

* * *

It took a day, and many long conversations, to figure out which style might work best for her.

The Spirit Beast Taming method had been the first to be discarded, because Shikako wasn’t interested in investing so much into an animal. If the Spirit Beast had been something like her old and much missed Deer Summons, she would have given it more thought. But apparently, nearly all such companion animals wouldn’t gain equivalent sentience and autonomy until she was in the uppermost stages. Divine Beasts were different, but they were like needles in a planet sized haystack; it was better to spend your limited time doing something else.

She had discarded the Musical and Fortunetelling methods merely after hearing their name. She wasn’t interested in specializing in either.

The Buddhist method had been promising, but it was much closer to taijutsu than Shikako liked. The Sword method had been similarly discarded for its overemphasis on pure kenjutsu, as well as it’s more subtle drawbacks. The other methods had similarly been scrutinized, discussed, and discarded until she was left with three possibilities.

The Scholarly method – which Lin Wenyin practiced a personal variant of – the Formation method, or the Talisman method.

“It’s odd. Both the Talisman and Formation methods remind me of sealing, but…Not exactly? Formations seem to rely much more rigidly on mathematical calculations to the ambient energies and such, while Talismans…They’re more like consumable spells than anything. Seals seem like they might be somewhere in the middle, if I can figure out what’s wrong with mine.”

The deer monster was silent for a few minutes in thought, before he asked with a gleam in his eyes “If you would share some of your knowledge with this master, perhaps I can assist?”

Shikako sighed, but didn’t see the harm. “They won’t activate. I tried using some against these Camel-Frog creatures I stumbled across, and they just didn’t work. It was like flinging paper instead of explosive tags.”

“This humble scholar freely admits to knowing little about Formations and Talismans, beyond how to operate them. However, as you have such an odd physique, are you certain they are drawing on the correct source? If they leave your person you need to be able to touch them with your qi at a distance.”

Shikako looked at the expectant deer monster blankly as his words echoed in her ears, before she ran her hands down her face with a loud groan. “I’m an _idiot. _Natural Chakra can’t be the battery!”

The only chakra in this dimension came from her body! There was no way anything could work if it was set up to draw in Natural Chakra after she activated the seal. No wonder her tags weren’t working, though, she was relieved to know that Hammerspace should be fine.

She just had to figure out how to replace the chakra component of her other seals now.

“Thanks…Lin-shifu.”

Shikako kindly ignored the deer’s jaw dropping in shock, before he looked incredibly pleased with himself.

“Yes, yes, you should keep calling me that! Now, have you decided on a method?”

“Would it be a problem if I stuck primarily to the Scholar method and took on the Talisman and Formation methods as secondary? I really want to learn about them.”

The deer monster considered it for a minute, and Shikako could now spot the expression meant he was rapidly thinking about something. It probably helped the deer was more used to his deer body, and didn’t know how expressive his human face was.

“I don’t think they’ll cause any conflict, but we shall need to be cautious and observe. I’m more than pleased to have another Scholar as my disciple! Especially one who has an interest in such lucrative trades… Books and such get very expensive when related to cultivation!”

Ahh. There went the warm feelings his words had stirred up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shikako has gotten her materials, figured out that Pesky Sealing Issue, and found out some Important Tidbits of Info on one deer. Time Skipping will start to settle in now.
> 
> As for Lin Wenyin's mysterious Master, his full name is Yao Baoyu! Baoyu as in [Torrential rain], ahahaha. The very unfortunate Shixiong-to-shimei is named Shen Suanyu. Her fellow disciples pity her for having upset their Master in her last life, since their Sect's personal disciples have a name change granted by their Master. Yao Baoyu gave her [Acid rain]. Her secret ambition is to get strong enough to run away from her overbearing Master. Everyone (except her Master) calls her Maoyu in this life however since she definitely is [Braving the rain]!
> 
> Terminology used in this chapter!
> 
> Shixiong- It's term of address very common in Xianxia/Wuxia, and translates to " Senior Brother" or "Senior Martial Brother, Senior Apprentice-Brother". The important thing to remember is that just because a character calls someone else their “brother”, “aunt”, etc… it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re blood-related. For martial sects your master is your “father” (Shifu.) Expanding from there, your master’s master is your “grandfather”. Your peers in the sect are your “brothers” and “sisters”. Your master’s peers are his siblings, making them your “aunts” and “uncles”. And when your peers (brothers/sisters) one day take on apprentices of their own, those apprentices will be your “nieces” and “nephews”.  
Here however, Lin Wenyin is talking about a fellow disciple of his master. Not some random peer!
> 
> Shimei- "Junior Sister" or "Junior Martial Sister, Junior Apprentice-Sister"
> 
> Talisman– A strip of paper with mystical diagrams & calligraphy drawn on it. In these novels, they’re essentially consumable spells. (When activated, they cast a spell and will disintegrate once their magic is depleted.)
> 
> Formations– divided into battle formations and spell formations, although they are often just called “formations”. Battle formations are “fantasy-fied” tactical formations used by several cultivators or martial artists attacking in concert for various effects. Spell formations are also called Arrays. They’re essentially magic circles which cast a continuous area-of-effect spell on the location the formation encompasses.


End file.
